Looking for a new ride. Hows Hellcat?

[Greg 'wmutt' Cook]

I'm looking for a new plane to major in (While I wait for the IL2).  I'm looking at the F6F.  What are some of the things this plane does well, and what are some of the things it do not do well?

Muttz

[Lephturn]

Hellcat.

Extremely challenging.    

It's a great E fighter that's too slow to run away.

Kill 'em all, it's your only chance.

I'm doing a tour in it right now.  The trick is it doesn't accelerate or climb particularly well.  It turns OK, but pretty much only with an E advantage.  It dives VERY well, and accelerates well in the early part of a dive.  It also can out-turn most of the planes that are faster than it.

The Hellcat has two problems.

1.  NA A A A A STY accelerated stall.  Sudden and violet snap roll to the left when you push it too hard.  Don't push the stall horn or you'll spin out bad.  Usually easy to recover if you do it quickly, but it's very sudden.

2.  NEEDS and energy advantage.  It's like a P47 that turns better but can't run from anything but a Zeke.  It can turn some, but you are best using it like a pure E fighter.  Use the vertical.

It's a challenging plane, but I enjoy it.  You have to have your SA witts about you, since you are dogmeat if you get outnumbered.  It's one big advantage is it's dive.  NOTHING is going to out-dive you, at least in the short term.  You can out-accelerate almost all the planes that can out dive you in the long run in a dive.  The good accelerating planes are the ones that kill you in a Hellcat.  Watch out for those N1k2's, they are your arch-enemy.  Don't engage them without an advantage.  Don't do more than one pass on them, two max.  If you don't kill them FAST, you are dogmeat.

Most everything else you can deal with.  If you can't out-turn it you can out-dive and maybe even out-run it.  If you can't out-run it, you can normally out-turn it.  It's the good all-around planes that are hard to deal with.  Oh... and one more thing... use the Dive Luke!  Although you can't run level very fast, from even a few K of altitude a 0G dive to the deck with a minimum G pullout will get you out of dodge fast.  If you are outnumbered and it's looking grim, slam it on the deck and bug out.  As long as nobody is right on you when you do it, you can often sneak away at 50 feet and then come back higher to pick on 'em.

Oh, and 6 .50's does't win snapshots at long range.  You can kill with snapshots, but set your convergence to all guns at 250 and shoot at 400 and less.  Try to hit snapshots right around 250 for maximum effect.  That works best for me.

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!


[This message has been edited by Lephturn (edited 05-22-2001).]

[Ripsnort]

Concur with Leph, and don't be afraid to turn with spits, granted you have the altitude after 1 or 2 turns to escape with, the Hellkitty holds its own very nicely in a turn fight but not a sustained turnfight.  Keep a hard ceiling of 10k in order to give yourself that extra altitude for an escape, it can dive really good!  It's dive is very similiar to the P47 (big flopping aircraft too, 2nd biggest in US planes)

[214thCavalier]

"Challenging" says it all  
Keep the speed, go vertical at every chance never use a flat turn when a vertical will work. Every foot of alt you gain will reward you later.
Low G moves all the time unless your desperate.
1v1 i reckon you have a good chance v most others if carefully flown.
Planes i worry about the most are LA7's and 109's the rest i can hold my own with.
La7 cos its so damn fast and climbs over your head so well, and 109's cos they rarely come alone  
Spit's are not too much of a problem, mebbe its the people flying em.
Btw did I mention that the F6 always seems to be everybodys first choice as an easy attack target ?
You can be in a furball and they always seem to home in on you first  
In short take your Valium before you up cos one way or another its gonna affect you, personally i am enjoying the challenge its the first plane i tried to stick with in a tour and after this all others seem easy.
Suppose i should mention that last night i tore all my hair out and nearly kicked a hole in the wall.
2 kills and 18 deaths says it all, was just one of those days.

[Ripsnort]

Hey Cav, bunch of us were doing Kitty vs G6 in DA, it held its own very well when the G6's were not going vertical  , now, what to do about the G2,G10....

[Ripsnort]

Hey Cav, shoot me an email if you get time please....
ripsnort@aceshighcs.com

A fella named Swoop wanted me to contact you  , you have no email in profile..

[Lephturn]

We'll have to wing up Cav.  I actually turned it around last night and landed a 4 kill sortie.

I find bad SA is killing me.  When you are used to flying something that can escape, you don't pay enough attention to the dots on the horizon, and the radar.  The one thing the Kitty can't stand is bad odds.  What turned it around for me last night was disciplining myself to exit the fight at 50 feet after every kill if I wasn't safe.  Then climb, come back, lather/rinse/repeat.  Where I get in trouble is when I don't get a kill fast enough.  I have to discipline myself to bug the hell out if I'm disadvantaged and come back higher.

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[214thCavalier]

Yes Lephturn thats a well used bug out routine believe me  
Only problem is these last few days I seem to get chased by the following combos when low LA7/P51 to force you to evade followed by Spit/N1K to take advantage and kill ya.
You are correct if outnumbered the F6 is in real trouble, as for the SA i usually keep on top of that but foolishly tend to ignore the warning bells far too long  
Next time i cya in the MA i will stick around and we will see what they can do.
Whatever destroyed my effectiveness and sanity last night appears to have gone away as all seems back to normal today thankfully.
Profile altered to show Email addy.

[janneh]

 

Originally posted by Lephturn:

2.  NEEDS and energy advantage.  It's like a P47 that turns better but can't run from anything but a Zeke.  It can turn some, but you are best using it like a pure E fighter.  Use the vertical.

I'll second that. Best bet is to fly it like P-47 with that little turning marginal for tough situations. After getting slow and low, you're dead so keep speed up.
Definitely worth plane to try.

[humble]

Mutt

I've flown last 10-12 hops in it...works to all my bad habits  .

Always a problem with the high nikki/spits that seem so prevelant. Good vis, good ammo...suprisingly nimble,,,right up to where it snaps violently and augers in  .

I keep feeling it's got the potential....I'm just not quite good enough.


Been in 3-4 2,3 on 1's where I lived to auger, literally 5-6 min with 3 yaks on the deck...not a ping but finally snap rolled it at 50 ft trying to get nose up.

Good luck with it

I cant figure out its "perk point" rating vs B pony or yak

[Lephturn]

Nah, it's perk point value is waaaay out there.   I think it deserves a 25 or more.

However, it does have another benefit, and that is it's toughness.  I've had cannon armed aircraft HOSE me down and blow many, many parts off and still made it home.  It's about as good as the Hog, and almost as tough as my Jug.  The key is... it's nimble as long as you stay fast.  Without E you are in deep trouble.  But, if you can keep your speed up, you'll give 'em fits.  It's big problem is that snap-roll stall that punishes you if you get slow.  It means that it is very difficult to get an overshoot if somebody gets position on you, since low speed maneuvers are going to kill you.

I think you need to give yourself about a 5k floor when flying it.  Try to keep 5k under you at all times.  If you do that, you'll always have room to dive to keep your speed up, and you'll likely have room to extend in a dive at least long enough to reverse and negate the positional advantage.  Many times, that 5k will allow you to 0G dive to the deck and sneak away.  You can go below 5k... but you better be getting a kill and you better not have any more hostiles on you.  

Oh, and don't bother flying over 15k in the Hellcat.  It sucks at altitude.  It is far better to be faster than higher once over 10k or so in this bird.  If you keep her fast, you can hide your true energy state and surprise higher bogeys that try to BnZ you thinking they have a big energy margin.  The Kitty zooms well enough to make 'em pay for the mistake, and it dives so well they can't escape after a pass or 2.  Just be careful not to zoom to extremely low speeds, since the Hellcat will spin out on you easily.  She can't hold her nose up and hang on her prop like a George or a G10 can.

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!